TEN Index

Sep. 16-30, 1996, Vol. 2, No. 18


Transboundary News

ESTONIA-FINLAND -- A VISA-FREE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ESTONIA AND FINLAND WILL BE SIGNED THIS YEAR, and could be enforced in the first half of next year, according to Sulev Roostar, Director of the Consular Department of the Estonian Foreign Ministry. Roostar said that the creation of an Estonian passport registry was discussed during the most recent round of talks between Estonian and Finnish delegations. The creation of the registry is one of the conditions for visa-free relations set by Finland. Roostar said that the Finnish side is ready to finance part of the project and also to provide expert aid in creating the registry. The next meeting of Estonian and Finnish foreign ministry delegations will take place in November. (ETA, 23 Sep.)

MOSCOW-TALLINN -- RUSSIAN-RUSSIAN BORDER TALKS FAILED TO REACH AGREEMENT in the latest round of Estonian-Russian border talks held in St. Petersburg on September 19-20. Vassily Svirin, head of the Russian delegation, said that a stalemate in the talks was inevitable. He said that the talks broke down, as at previous talks, over Estonia's insistence to include the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty in the text of the border agreement. Svirin said that Russia cannot accept this because then Estonia would have the right to demand the return of 2,000 square kilometers of land on the Russian side of the border, even though Estonia has said it will make no such demand. The only progress at the talks was that Russia agreed to give up 3.6 square kilometers of land on the northern side of Lake Peipsi (Chudskoe) in return for the same area of Estonian land on the south of the lake. (ETA, 22 Sep.)

RIGA-VILNIUS -- THE LATVIAN-LITHUANIAN LAND BORDER DEMARCATION PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN IMPEDED BY POLITICAL DISPUTES over the sea border, according to border officials on both sides. Land surveyors from each country continue their work and a joint commission will approve one more tract of demarcated land border shortly. Lithuania and Latvia agreed that both countries would mark half of their 540-kilometer land border. The end of this year is to see the demarcation of another 100-kilometer tract with a final work to be carried out by the end of 1997. The Latvian-Lithuanian land border was adjusted in 1993. Lithuania already finished demarcation of its border with Poland and plans to hold the first meeting of a joint demarcation commission with Belarus. The land border tract with the Russian Kaliningrad region has still to be demarcated. (ELTA, 26 Sep.)

VIA BALTICA HIGHWAY -- THE FUTURE USEFULNESS OF THE VIA BALTICA HIGHWAY HAS BEEN EXAGGERATED, according to expert evaluations by the Estonian Economy Institute. The route, for which expensive improvements have been planned, has a near to zero profitability for Estonia, according to the institute. Estonia's most important cargo roads run from East to West. The institute says that a hundred times more cargo is transported in the East-West route than on the North-South route, the direction in which the Via Baltica runs. At present Via Baltica is mainly used by tourists who visit the Baltic states. Future transit with Russia is projected to continue to increase as the export of oil, timber and other resources from Russia to Estonia increases. (Aripaev, 23 Sep.)

TALLINN-STOCKHOLM -- THE PRELIMINARY WORK OF COVERING THE ESTONIA FERRY WRECK has already cost 224 million Swedish crowns, despite the fact that the work is not close to being finished. Building companies have already placed 380,000 cubic meters of sand around the wreck. The work was halted recently when it appeared that the sand around the wreck had started to move. Scientists of the Dutch Delft University are investigating the reasons why the sand may have moved. When those reasons are clear, the rest of the 120,000 cubic meters of sand will be put into place, after which the sand masses will be stabilized with stones. A final decision on whether concrete will cover the wreck has not yet been taken. (ETA, 22 Sep.)

RIGA-STOCKHOLM -- A RECOMMENDATION THAT REGULAR FERRY TRAFFIC BE OPENED ON A RIGA-STOCKHOLM ROUTE has been made by the Latvian Ministry of transportation in a memorandum to the Swedish government. This follows the recent visit to the Latvian capital by a Swedish delegation charged with investigating the possibility of establishing such a ferry route. The delegation concluded that for the scheme to be viable a bilateral agreement between Sweden and Latvia should be signed, and that the company undertaking the venture should be given a ten year monopoly on the route. (LETA, 24 Sep.)

ESTONIA-LATVIA -- TWO CROSSING POINTS ON THE LATVIAN-ESTONIAN BORDER ARE TO BE CLOSED because of shortages of border guards at two crossing points on the Latvian-Estonian border. It is expected that Estonia will not officially be consulted about the closings, as Latvia cannot accept financial support from Estonia in order to keep the crossing points open. The names of the two crossing points to be closed have not yet been revealed. (LETA, 25 Sep.)

MOSCOW-RIGA -- THE LATVIAN AIRLINE AIR BALTIC continues to be denied the rights to fly the Riga-Moscow route because of debts owed to Russia by the now defunct state-owned Latvian carrier Latavio. This situation leaves the journey open only to Aeroflot and Transaero, two Russian carriers. Russian aviation authorities are demanding USD 2.5 million from Air Baltic to fly the route. At Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, a Latavio plane has also been seized for non-payment. Latvian Transport Minister Vilis Kristopans warned that there could come a point in time when Russian airliners would be turned back from Riga if situation is not resolved. (LETA, 17 Sep.)

KALININGRAD-VILNIUS -- LITHUANIAN AND KALININGRAD REGION SECURITY DEPARTMENTS HAVE LAUNCHED a new program for bilateral cooperation. Kaliningrad and Lithuanian security delegations have agreed on cooperation to enforce the prevention of drug and alcohol smuggling, illegal gun trafficking and trade, international terrorism, and illegal migration. The security departments will now exchange information or even organize joint operations. Lithuania has already established similar relations with Latvian security agencies, which has resulted in positive results, as smuggling by using forged documents on the Lithuanian-Latvian border is reportedly common. (ELTA, 29 Sep.)

Environmental News

NORTHEAST ESTONIA -- LOSSES RESULTING FROM FIRE AT THE ORU PEAT FIELD AMOUNTED TO ESTONIA'S ANNUAL PEAT BRIQUETTE CONSUMPTION. The fire at the Oru peat fields in northeastern Estonia, which raged for several days, consumed an amount of peat necessary to produce 23,000 tons of peat briquettes. This amount is almost equal to Estonia's annual consumption, technical director of AS Oru Aleksander Saar said. Estonia's three peat briquette (peat pressed into a brick-like shape) plants - Tootsi, Sangla and Oru, are able to cover the annual consumption in Estonia. About 150 people participated in the fire-fighting work. The fire created losses amounting to 8 million kroons for AS Oru. The company is facing financial difficulties and has presented an application to the state Environmental Fund to finance its rescue work. Peat briquettes are widely used for heating in Estonia in older houses that lack central heating. (ETA, 23 Sep.)

SOSNOVY BOR -- THE SECOND ENERGY BLOCK OF THE LENINGRAD ATOMIC ELECTRIC STATION (LAES) was restarted on September 28 after having been stopped on August 31 for planned maintenance and repair work. The LAES is the largest energy complex in northwestern Russia and the second energy block is capable of producing power an additional 1,000 megawatts. If funding is received from the federal level, the third block of LAES is scheduled to be started in the first quarter of 1997. (Nevskoe Vremiia, 28 Sep.)

IGNALINA ATOMIC POWER PLANT, LITHUANIA -- POWER PLANT AUTHORITIES WILL BE INSTALLING A MODERN COMPUTING SYSTEM for the plant over the course of the next three years. The installation work will take place without closing the plant. The computers are from the firms DEC and CPI, and the firm SAIC is to install the new system into the first energy block of Ignalina's plant. The new computing system will increase nuclear plant safety, in addition to making control operations easier, said Aleksandras Mysko, head of Ignalina atomic plant's automated department. The guaranteed term of existing Titan computing system expired five years ago. The Titan system reportedly fails to work rather frequently and causes stoppages of the first energy block. To fix this system would cost a large amount of money, as an Ukrainian plant producing Titan computing systems has practically stopped production, Mysko said. The Lithuanian government has guaranteed two US bank loans to Ignalina Atomic Plant for the purchase of the new computing system. (ELTA, 29 Sep.)

NIDA, LATVIA -- ONE HUNDRED PROTESTERS MARCHED TWO KILOMETERS FROM THE LATVIAN TOWN OF NIDA TO THE LITHUANIAN BORDER to protest against the proposed building of an oil terminal in the border port of Butinge, Lithuania. Protest organizer Arvids Ulme of the Environmental Defense Club said that Latvian government officials should play a larger role in stopping construction of the future Lithuanian terminal. The protest took place on September 28. Latvian Professor Austris Grasis said that "this problem must take on international dimensions, because pollution of the Baltic Sea caused by an accident at the oil terminal would threaten all countries near the sea, not just Latvia." A spokesperson for the City Council of Ventspils in Latvia, Inguna Berzniece, said that the opening of the Butinge terminal would mean also competition for oil facilities in her town and therefore harm the Latvian economy. (LETA, 30 Sep.)

KRASNYI BOR-ST. PETERSBURG -- THE CONSTRUCTION OF A TOXIC WASTE REPROCESSING PLANT has begun and two "chemical lakes" in the vicinity of the plant have already been cleared. In Krasnyi Bor alone, it is estimated that 70 such chemical lakes exist. The cost of the processing plant is more than $55 million. The Finnish firm EcoTec assisted with the design of the plant and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment has contributed 5 million FIM to the project. The academic center "Applied Chemistry" (former GIPKh) is organizing the project. (Delovoi Peterburg, 27 Sep.)

BIRZAI AND SKUODAS, LITHUANIAN -- A JAPANESE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY IS TO GRANT A LOAN to Lithuania to assist in the construction of Lithuanian water treatment facilities in Birzai and Skuodas. The Japanese Ambassador to Lithuania, Takaya Suto, said that Japan also planned the exchange of specialists in nuclear energy with Lithuania. The Japanese government has decided to open an embassy in Vilnius in the near future, Deputy General Secretary of the Liberal Democrats Party Yoshihiro Nishida said. "Japan and Lithuania are neighbors in a sense, as the countries are separated solely by Russia bordering on both of them," Nishida noted. (ELTA, 18 Sep.)

NORTHERN ESTONIA -- THE CHEMICAL FACTORY KIVITER WILL BEGIN TO GENERATE ITS OWN ELECTRIC ENERGY with the goal of saving eventually 1-2 million USD annually. The calculations are based on the assumption that the price of electricity in Estonia will rise about four times in the next years. As Kiviter gives up power from the oil shale-based power stations of northeastern Estonia, less sulphur dioxide should also be emitted to the environment. The cost of a new German-made generator and installation for the factory will cost US$ 2 million. (ETA, 18 Sep.)

VILNIUS -- THE SEIMAS HAS OFFICIALLY CRITICIZED STATE AGRARIAN REFORM in 1991 and 1992 as a poorly managed reform. The Lithuanian agrarian reform involved many illegal decisions and actions, according to the Seimas resolution. The resolution demands that the general prosecutor's office interrogate those individuals responsible and start legal proceedings against them. The opposition Homeland's Union (Conservatives) and Christian Democrats factions boycotted the voting in the Lithuanian parliament. "Due to anti-democratic and anti-legal measures, Lithuanian agriculture incurred about 35 billion litas in losses, which has had long-standing economic and social consequences," the resolution states. (ELTA, 19 Sep.)

VILNIUS -- THE LITHUANIAN SEIMAS HAS APPROVED A STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STRATEGY FOR THE 1996-2000 PERIOD. The strategy encompasses goals and priorities and a program of evaluation. For implementation of the adopted document, an inter-institutional coordination group is to be established. The state environmental protection strategy was elaborated by a joint group of Lithuanian and foreign specialists led by a steering committee of the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment. The joint group developed the strategy in part by referring to the environmental requirements of the European Union and Nordic countries. (ELTA, 25 Sep.)

ST. PETERSBURG -- THE CONDUCTING OF POLICE RAIDS ON GARBAGE TRUCKS DRIVERS who dump their garbage close to the site of pickup rather than deliver the garbage to official dumps has been approved by city officials. The garbage truck drivers save fuel and time by not dumping their loads at the official dump sites. Those loads with toxic wastes designated to go to the Krasnyi Bor site represent the greatest danger to city residents. (Vecher. Peterburg, 19 Sep.)

Conferences, Events, and Meetings

PALDISKI NUCLEAR TRAINING PLANT, ESTONIA -- RADIATION MONITORING EQUIPMENT IS BEING GIVEN TO THE PALDISKI PLANT under a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of State. A team of U.S. experts are in Estonia on their fifth mission to advise the Estonian Ministry of Economy in its management of the Paldiski nuclear training center. Scientists and technicians from the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering Laboratory have been installing equipment and conducting training at Paldiski. Twenty-three pieces of detection equipment, maintenance tools, and training - at an estimated cost of 1.5 million kroons - are being provided. The equipment will enable Estonian technicians to monitor the radiation levels to which plant staff are exposed. (ETA, 19 Sep.)

VILNIUS -- THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT (IBRD) HAS GRANTED A TEN-MILLION LOAN TO LITHUANIA FOR ENERGY-SAVING PROJECTS. The Lithuanian Parliament recently ratified an agreement to receive the ten-million loan from IBRD. The loan is aimed at financing an energy saving and habitat pilot project the value of which amounts to 20.6 million USD. 8.2 million USD are assigned for developing energy saving in private residences. 1.8 million USD are to be assigned for the introduction of energy saving instruction in schools. (ELTA, 24 Sep.)

LITHUANIA -- THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) IS TO SUPPORT the implementation of five new safety projects in Lithuania. The projects include the development of radio ecological monitoring on the territory of Ignalina Nuclear Plant, and an application of IAEA economic models in planning of Lithuanian nuclear energy development, the official said. The parties have agreed that Lithuania will cover eight percent of the expenses of each project. The IAEA participated in a recent conference in Lithuania that provided a forum for detailed discussions on how IAEA can help Lithuania. Lithuania has been a member of IAEA since 1991. (ELTA, 17 Sep.)

LENINGRAD OBLAST -- THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF A CARDBOARD AND BOX PLANT has held outside of St. Petersburg. The plant will be built at the cost of 100 million Swedish kroner. The factory is to be finished by the summer of 1997 and is the first of its kind to be built in northwestern Russia. The General Consul of Sweden and the Assistant Governor of Leningrad Oblast attended the official groundbreaking ceremony on September 22. (Chas Pik, 25 Sep.)

VILNIUS -- ELEVEN LITHUANIAN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS are to be financed by the US International Development Agency (USAID) under the Democracy Network Program. The US Ambassador to Lithuania, James Swihart, at a recent ceremony presented documents certifying assistance to those organizations which won in the grant competition. About 125,000 USD were shared among the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, Prisoners' Care Society, Association of Judges, and Human Rights Center. Assistance was also given to the Lithuanian Ornithologists Society, European Coast Protection Baltic Bureau, Kaunas Women's Employment and Information Center, Help to Lithuania Movement, and Vilnius Nature Society. (ELTA, 22 Sep.)

TALLINN -- THE SWEDISH FINANCE MINISTER HAS PLEDGED TO FINANCE SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS in northeastern Estonia. Swedish Finance Minister Erik Asbrink, who paid the one-day visit to Estonia on September 16, met with Estonian Prime Minister Tiit Vahi and discussed with him cooperation between the finance ministries of their two states. Sweden is ready to donate additional funds to improve the environment of northeastern Estonia, Asbrink emphasized. Asbrink said that Sweden will support Estonia in every possible way in her democratic development and aspirations toward gaining European Union membership. (ETA, 16 Sep.)

ST. PETERSBURG -- PLANS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY BETWEEN MOSCOW-ST. PETERSBURG were defended by general director of the railway project, Vladimir Tulaev, at a recent press conference. He responded to sharp criticism of the project by some city officials. Tulaev reported that the project would be both economically successful and would cause no environmental damage, two claims which are widely contested by city officials. Tulaev also defended his plan to reconstruct a part of the existing Moscow Station. That plans have been evaluated by city architects as destructive to the general architectural lines of the city. (Nevskoe Vremiia, 27 Sep.)

PSKOV, RUSSIA -- THE ASSOCIATION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NORTHWEST REGION OF RUSSIA held its founding meeting in Pskov. The association seeks to defend the interests of Russian telecommunication operators in the face of foreign competition, as well as to seek a standard rate system throughout the the region. Representatives of Elektrosviaz' from Petersburg, Novgorod, Pskov, Cherepovets, Vologda, Murmansk, Arkhangel'sk, and Kareliia participated in the founding of the association. (Delovoi Peterburg, 17 Sep.)

TALLINN -- ESTONIA WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN CENTRAL EUROPE TO GRADUATE FROM THE PROGRAMS OF USAID. An official ceremony at Tallinn Town Hall was attended by Estonian President Lennart Meri, Premier Tiit Vahi, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and persons who have taken part in USAID projects during the past five years. During that period, Estonia has received a total of 50 million dollars of aid, of which 20 million has been directed to agriculture. At a forum of non-governmental organizations held at the same time, 108,000 USD were given to Estonian NGOs within the framework of the Democracy Network Project of USAID. (ETA, 16 Sep.)

ST. PETERSBURG -- A NEW PROGRAM FOR BORDER REGION COOPERATION, financed by TACIS technical aid funds of the European Union, was discussed by a newly appointed working commission with representatives from the European Union, Russia, Finland, the Baltic States, and other Central European states. A plan for concrete actions within the realm of the program were selected for 1996. The total budget of the program is 30 million ECU, or which 21 ECU will be used for funding activity related to border and customs regulation of the borders. Six million ECU has also been assigned for a program of border region cooperation in the realm of environmental protection. (SPb Vedomosti, 26 Sep.)

ST. PETERSBURG -- THE FORUM "CONTEMPORARY ASPECTS OF THE INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF ST. PETERSBURG, NORTHWEST REGION, AND GREAT BRITAIN" was held recently on the initiative of the British Council. Representatives of institutions of higher education from St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Novgorod, Murmansk, and Arkhangelsk participated in the forum. Financial issues as well as guidelines for diploma acceptance and compatibility in Western European institutions of higher education were discussed at the forum. (Chas Pik, 19 Sep.)

JURMALA, LATVIA -- AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON "THE USAGE OF ENERGY IN THE BALTIC REGION" took place at the seaside resort of Jurmala near Riga. Two wind power generators now stand at Adazi, outside Riga. The generators have received support from the Latvian government which purchases electricity from them at double the normal tariff. A spokesman for the state power utility firm Latvenergo said that a lack of wind would prevent widespread industrial usage of windmill technology in Latvia, but smaller units could have a future when farmers and other consumers enjoy greater purchasing power. (LETA, 19 Sep.)

NOVGOROD -- AN INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON THE AUTOMATED MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRIC POWER STATIONS was held recently in Novgorod. The German firm Siemens and the Russian firm Interavtomatika organized the seminar. About 160 representatives from electrostations from throughout Russia participated in the seminar. Finnish specialists also attended. (Delovoi Peterburg, 27 Sep.)

LITHUANIA -- AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "TEN YEARS AFTER THE CHERNOBYL TRAGEDY" was held at the resort of Birstonas in Lithuania. Chernobyl groups from 11 countries, the Lithuanian government, health care and labor ministry, as well as representatives of the Lithuanian Green movement, participated in the conference. It was aimed at discussing the social and medical problems encountered by Chernobyl victims, and activities envisaged for the future. The Lithuanian Chernobyl Medical Care Center also told of its experience at the conference. A representative of the center estimated that there are about 7,000 people living in Lithuania today who were involved in the liquidation of the Chernobyl plant accident. (ELTA, 26 Sep.)

NORTHWEST RUSSIA -- THE PROJECT "INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT AND THE RAISING OF THE STATUS OF SMALL BUSINESS THROUGH PRESS, RADIO, AND TELEVISION" is to be organized in the near future by the Northwestern Association of Business Journalists. The Eurasia Foundation has recently awarded a grant to the association for the development of the project. (Vecher. Peterburg, 27 Sept.)

ST. PETERSBURG -- A LITHUANIAN TRADE CENTER has opened for assisting Lithuanian and Russian business partners in making contacts in the northwest region of Russia. Representatives at the Center emphasize that Lithuanian businesses depend and in future will continue to depend heavily on natural resources from northwestern Russia. The center was organized by the Lithuanian organization Viakhema and is located on Piatiletok Prospekt. (Vecher. Peterburg, 25 Sep.)

VYBORG, RUSSIA -- MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SEWER PIPES OF VYBORG has begun. A large part of the funding for the reconstruction is coming from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. Ninety-five percent of existing sewer pipe in Vyborg dates from that period when the city belonged to Finland. Special attention is being paid to laying strengthened sewer pipe under central throughfares with heavy traffic volumes. (SPb Vedomosti, 27 Sep.)

VILNIUS -- REPRESENTATIVES OF CONSULTING FIRMS OF THE BALTIC REGION will participate in a conference to be held on November 8-10. The state of the consulting industry in regard to small business in the Baltic states will be discussed at the conference. An improved information exchange and cooperative projects among consulting firms in the region will be proposed. (Delovoi Peterburg, 20 Sep.)

New Facts and Statistics

RIGA -- LATVIA WAS ALONE TO TURN BACK CLOCKS on the last Sunday of September, one month ahead of the rest of Europe and neighbors Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia. Airlines were informed of the change only days before and were angry to be forced to take out last-minute newspaper, television and radio advertisements to warn their customers. The clocks went back to winter time, GMT plus two hours, on September 29. A Latvian government spokesman said Latvia was out of step after officials failed to present the legislation needed to enforce a new time change in time for the cabinet to approve it. (Reuter, 30 Sep.)

TALLINN -- GREAT BRITAIN RANKED EIGHTH IN TRADE WITH ESTONIA IN 1995, despite an historically leading trade role with Estonia. Great Britain was Estonia's largest trade partner in the inter- war period. Estonian's new special Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Raul Malk, said that Estonia hopes to return to such levels of trade between the two countries. Mr. Malk said that he would like to see the day when the trade between the two countries reaches pre-war levels. (Aripaev, 26 Sep.)

ESTONIA -- ESTONIAN BANKS HAVE PROVIDED NOT ONLY DESCRIPTIVE INTERNET SITES, BUT ALSO INTERNET BANKING. Such transactions and access to account statements and transfers is now available. Internet banking is available with those banks from any Internet site in the world. EVEA Bank (http://www.evb.ee), Forex Bank (http://www.forex.ee),Savings Bank (http://www.esb.ee), North Estonia Bank (http://www.pep.ee) and Hansa Bank (http://www.hansa.ee) have descriptive sites on the Internet, while Forex Bank and Savings Bank also offer Internet banking. (Arileht, 29 Sep.)

TALLINN -- THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON BALTIC SEA FISHERIES has approved new quotas Estonia for 1996. Estonia's quotas for fishing in the Baltic Sea, including the Gulf of Finland, will be: 56,800 tons of herring and 56,600 tons of Baltic sprats, and 10,230 tons of salmon from the Gulf of Finland, and 8,471 tons of salmon the rest of the Baltic Sea. (Sonumileht, 24 Sep.)

LITHUANIA -- THE TOTAL DEMAND FOR PRIVATE WATER METERS in Lithuania represents 2.2 million units. About 40 percent of Lithuanians have installed cold and hot water meters. (ELTA, 18 Sep.)


TEN Index
Рекламные ссылки: